It was said in 2009 when Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games ... after playing 27 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“This proves once and for all that the system works.”

It was said after Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, the 2011 National League MVP failed a drug test as a part of MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Policy ... during post-season play. Braun had his 50-game suspension overturned by an arbitrator, who ruled the outfielder’s urine sample was mishandled.

“This means the system does work.”

It was said after San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera was suspended 50 games for testing positive for high levels of testosterone ... 113 games into last season.

Now, as the best of the best gather in New York on Sunday night for all-star festivities, it is obvious that commissioner Bud Selig is making a giant stride towards improving the system.

Selig has hired Mark J. Sullivan, a former Secret Service agent, to help its investigation into the Biogenesis clinic in South Florida, according to the New York Times.

ESPN’s T.J. Quinn and Pedro Gomez have reported baseball could suspend Alex Rodriguez, Braun and others up to 100 games since Biogenesis operator Tony Bosch is co-operating with attorneys. The suspension would be 50 games for using performance-enhancing drugs and 50 more for lying about cheating.

When the original story broke during the off-season we were told by someone in the know that Cabrera, a Blue Jays free-agent signee, would not serve additional time as he’d already served his suspensions. The same for Colon and Grandal.

It’s not know if Cabrera, Grandal or Colon co-operated with investigators or they could be facing additional suspensions.

Michael Weiner, executive director of the Players’ Association, claimed the drug agreement may be undermined by leaks about whether players are cooperating with the investigation.

“Repeated leaks harm the integrity” of the agreement, Weiner said in a statement Thursday, adding the leaks “call into question the required level of confidentiality needed to operate a successful prevention program.”

“Our players want a clean game and demand a testing program that is not only the toughest in pro sports,” Weiner said, “but one that guarantees each player due process accompanied by strict confidentiality provisions.”

The Yankees had planned on having Rodriguez rejoin the club after hip surgery later this month. He’s 2-for-15 with one RBI and three strikeouts on his first two rehab stops at class-A Charleston and class-A Tampa. Now he’s headed to either double-A Trenton or triple-A Scranton/Wilke-Barre.

You could say he’s in post-season form.

Rodriguez met with investigators in Tampa.

The agreement between Bosch and MLB was delayed while Bosch’s lawyers spoke to the U.S. Attorney’s office to see what legal jeopardy Bosch might face. Bosch wanted help mitigating criminal exposure, as he could be face federal criminal investigation.

It’s like the common scene on many Law and Order episodes where the defence lawyer asks the star witness “did you receive immunity or make a deal before you testified here today?”

It’s a mess and far from over. What does a contender do at the trade deadline if it doesn’t know whether one of its players will be suspended. How does a suspended player sign as a free agent?

We’ve read columns knocking Selig for digging deeper into this, some written by the same people who knocked the commissioner for dragging his feet when Mark McGwire was hitting home runs at a record pace.

Suspensions won’t be announced during Monday’s home run derby or in the fifth inning of the all-star game. They won’t come for a couple of weeks.

Selig is trying to clean up the game.

He is trying to make the system work — which is what the majority of players want.

It was said in 2009 when Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games ... after playing 27 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“This proves once and for all that the system works.”

It was said after Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, the 2011 National League MVP failed a drug test as a part of MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Policy ... during post-season play. Braun had his 50-game suspension overturned by an arbitrator, who ruled the outfielder’s urine sample was mishandled.

“This means the system does work.”

It was said after San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera was suspended 50 games for testing positive for high levels of testosterone ... 113 games into last season.